AR 7340.1 Maternity Leave
References:
Education Code Sections 87766 and 88193
Government Code Section 12985
The district shall grant maternity leave in compliance with Government Code Section 12985. Maternity leave may be requested as follows:
1. When the attending physician determines that the individual should discontinue work, she should obtain a written statement from the physician. The statement must provide an estimate of the length of the disability. Pregnancy in and of itself is not considered a disability. Employees may not move from an unpaid status (leave without pay) to a paid status (sick leave). To be eligible to use sick leave, the employee must be either disabled or recovering from childbirth. a. An employee may use accrued sick leave or other accrued benefits, if eligible, to cover this period of disability. b. If the employee is eligible to use sick leave, and sick leave is exhausted, an employee is eligible for the 100 day differential at 50% pay. c. If the employee exhausts all accrued leave, she may request an unpaid leave. An unpaid leave of more than five days requires approval from the Board of Trustees. d. Qualifying employees may request additional unpaid leave benefits under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993. Request forms are available in the Office of Personnel Services.
2. It is recognized that each employee and each pregnancy is different, and the unexpected may occur. However, the supervisor must be informed of tentative plans as early as possible. This allows for orderly planning of workload and staffing.
3. To protect benefits, employees are encouraged to stay in a paid-leave status as long as possible. An unpaid leave may require the employee to pay insurance premiums, lose retirement service credit or seniority. It is the employee's responsibility to check with Personnel Services regarding the potential impact on benefits of an unpaid leave.
Responsible Manager: Vice Chancellor of Human Resources
Adopted: January 1, 1997
Revised: September 19, 2016
